Published On:2014/09/13
Posted by alialsayed
Betty White
Betty White is a comedic actress who has been in show business, from TV to film, since the 1950s, most notably on The Golden Girls.
Born January 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois, Betty White has been in show business since the 1950s. In these 50-odd years, White has appeared in sitcoms, on game shows, and, most recently, on Saturday Night Live as the host, after a Facebook-fueled effort to get her to host the show.
Early Life and Career
Comedic actress Betty Marion White Ludden was born on January 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois. She grew up as the only child of Horace and Tess White, an electrical engineer and a homemaker. When she was 2, she moved to Los Angeles with her family.
White got her start working as an assistant at a local television station. In the early 1950s, she launched her first television series, Life with Elizabeth, which she developed with George Tibbles. "He wrote and I produced," White explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "I was one of the first women producers in Hollywood." The show's premise came from a sketch she had done previously on local television.
Continuing to work in television, White made guest appearances on such shows as The United States Steel Hour and Petticoat Junction. She was also a favorite of talk-show host Jack Paar, who often had her on the Tonight Show, and she made regular appearances on game shows such asPassword. She met her third husband, Allen Ludden, on that show in 1961.
TV Stardom
White's career received an enormous boost from her next television series,The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Playing Sue Ann Nivens, White showed audiences that behind her sweet smile lay a sharp wit. Her character served as a co-worker to the show's star, Mary Tyler Moore, in a Minneapolis television newsroom. When she wasn't pursuing her male colleagues, Sue Ann could be counted on to make funny, yet poignant, quips at Moore's expense. White won two Emmy Awards for her work on the series.
Later Career
After The Golden Girls went off the air in 1992, White appeared in the short-lived spin-off, Golden Palace. She had better luck as a guest star, appearing on numerous television series. She even played herself on The John Larroquette Show in 1996, which earned her another Emmy Award-win. More recently, White enjoyed recurring roles on David E. Kelley's Boston Legal and on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She also had a supporting role in 2009's romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.
Also in 2010, White returned to series television with a role on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, alongside stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick. She first only signed on for the pilot, but she later joined the cast. "It's just a terrific show. The chemistry between the girls is so great," she toldNewsweek.
White has continued to enjoy her latest wave of success. In addition to her work in Hot in Cleveland, she also hosts Betty White's Off Their Rockers. This hidden camera show features a mature set of merry pranksters who play jokes on younger generations. White picked an Emmy Award nomination for her work on the show in 2012.
That same year, White celebrated her 90th birthday with all-star television special. Ellen Degeneres, Mary Tyler Moore, Carl Reiner, Tina Fey and Ed Asner were among the many celebrities who helped honor White on the program.
Personal Life
Now in her nineties, White told The Hollywood Reporter that "I have to keep acting so that I can afford to keep doing my charity work!" Animals are her great passion. She has worked with the Los Angeles Zoo and the Morris Animal Foundation for more than four decades. "I'm actually the luckiest old broad alive. Half my life is working in a profession I love and the other half is working with animals."
Thrice married, White said that her third husband, Allen Ludden, was the love of her life. The couple was married from 1963 until Ludden's death in 1981. She was previously married to WWII pilot Dick Barker and theatrical agent Lane Allen.
